Tuolumne County

Melones had been the hot spot for Kokanee over the last month, but the bite has cooled off substantially as of late. Bigger kokes can still be had, trolling the bottom of the lake in over 100 feet of water, although bites are becoming much harder to come by.

Bass action has been fairly good, and shad imitation baits have been best. A topwater bite in the morning has produced the biggest fish, while flukes and spinnerbaits deeper are getting the most action the rest of the day.

Don Pedro has been extremely hot for Kokanee as of late. Anglers are trolling 40-50 feet down with Apex lures, pulling quality Kokanee up to 16 inches, and a few holdover rainbows pushing 3-4 pounds. Water levels are still high, and surface water temps are in the high 70s. Topwater bass action has also been very good in the morning, but finesse in deeper water has worked best as the day progresses.

Most bass have either moved into the post-spawn or are chasing shad around the lake. Finesse soft plastics have triggered the most action lately, although a recent morning top-water bite is really taking off. Trollers are finding both trout and kings in 50-75 feet, mostly running Kokanee gear. Shad are starting to school up everywhere, and this is the primary forage for all predatory fish right now.

Bass anglers are getting a lot of action using flukes and smaller swimbaits, as most fish are actively targeting spawning shad. Focus on fishing far back in quiet coves and inlets. Big Kokanee are still drawing plenty of attention at New Melones, although catch numbers have dropped a bit. Most trollers are targeting Kokanee, but the rainbow trout bite has been proving much more consistent.

Plenty of springtime action at Don Pedro. Bass (smallmouth, largemouth & spotted) are in all different stages of spawning, but most fish are pushed up shallow, within 10 feet of water. Both reaction baits and finesse techniques have been successful. Try crankbaits and spinnerbaits early, then shift to drop-shots or Texas-rigged plastics in the afternoon.
Trollers are still finding big rainbow trout between 20-30 feet in the mornings, though the afternoons require anglers to fish twice as deep. King salmon are still being caught, mostly on the north end of the lake.

Big Kokanee are the talk at New Melones. Anglers have been finding 15-17 inch fish trolling 30-50 feet... and few 18 inchers have been caught this year. Quality-sized trout have also been reported at similar depths. Bass fishing is about to turn on with the upcoming warm spell. Try flukes and light finesse.